Guidance for your students

The coursework, a Work-related portfolio, is 50% of your total grade. There are three parts to this:

Standard procedures

Suitability tests

Work-related report

Standard procedures

You do six standard procedures. This is 6 x 2% = 12% of total marks

A standard procedure is a series of practical steps, often including scientific techniques, that will achieve the same result no matter who carries it out.
It involves following instructions, working safely, and making measurements or observations carefully.

Suitability test

You do one suitability test. This is 21% of total marks

Suitability tests are an example of how science is used in the workplace.

There are three types of test you might carry out:

Testing a material or comparing materials for a particular purpose

Comparing different procedures used for the same purpose

Testing the suitability of a device for a particular purpose

You will need to:
Describe the relevant properties or characteristics
Follow or devise a suitable approach
Collect reliable data
Evaluate the suitability of the material, procedure, or device
Communicate through a structured report

Work-related report

You do one work-related report. This is 17% of total marks

Gathering information
Collect information from different places – leaflets, books, videos, and the internet.
Try and include information provided directly by a practitioner.
Identify where the information has come from.
Make it clear when you are using actual words from an information source.

Describing the workplace
Describe the expertise, qualifications, and personal qualities important to a practitioner or working group.
Describe the nature of the workplace and how it relates to the wider organization.
Give the financial or regulatory context.
Describing relevant scientific knowledge and skills.
Describe scientific knowledge and understanding applied in the workplace.
Describe in detail one example of a key technical skill.

Presenting your report
Make sure your report is laid out clearly in a sensible order.
Use pictures, tables, charts, and graphs etc to present information.
Take care with your spelling, grammar, and punctuation, and use scientific terms where they are appropriate.